City Unrulyversity

So what I have been doing besides going to class, studying, and cooking?

Last night I went to City Unrulyversity’s first of four sessions on marketing for start-ups. This first one was about using social media for impact. Since I don’t (er, didn’t…) really have a start-up or a plan for one, I thought that I was only going because it sounded interesting, and my lecturer Ernesto was leading the session. If Ernesto is going to be teaching something, you want to be there, trust me. However, I ended up having one of the best nights that I’ve had so far in London.

I met some really great people, and am hopefully finding new ways to get involved. It’s as though sometimes I almost forget that I live in London – one of the biggest cities in the world with tons of amazing opportunities. I’ve always felt like I want to change the world, even if it’s in little ways, and it’s time to start working towards that in earnest. Especially when it comes to feminism and other social action. These days I spend a lot of time just thinking and planning, and now I realize that I want to actually do something. Hopefully this means you’ll start seeing exciting new things from me in this space soon enough. Also, as someone who generally keeps to myself and has trouble interacting in large groups of people, I felt surprisingly at ease in this group. Perhaps I’m finally managing some of my anxieties, or perhaps everyone there was just awesome. Either way, I’m excited to go back next week.

Plus, I feel like I had some really good ideas for using social media to benefit my Traveling Book Fairy idea. It may be a bit of a far-off dream in an uncertain future, but when the time comes I want to be ready. It’s good to have events like this that really make you think about why you’re using social media, what you want to achieve with it, and how it can have a much better impact if you’ve given it some thought and a plan instead of just diving in because “it’s the thing to do.” Even if I weren’t planning to do anything with it myself, the dynamics are pretty fascinating. I wonder what the future of platforms like Twitter and Pinterest is going to be like (or if I’ll look back in 2025 and laugh at this because we’ve moved on so much that the past will seem silly, as suggested here. There may be another post coming on this; I think I disagree with quite a bit of it…)

All in all, a lovely and productive evening. Those are frequently the best kinds.

Cuddle Cthulhu is mad that I didn’t take him with me, so here’s a cute picture. I promise to actually bring him with me next time I go anywhere; he hasn’t done much invading in the past few weeks. We’ll remedy that soon.

I told Cuddle Cthulhu that I brought him a new friend. He was not amused…

This is totally unrelated, but I was thinking about how English doesn’t have a gender-neutral pronoun (despite the attempt to introduce ones like “ze/hir/hirs”). Most people use “they” for a singular pronoun colloquially, but grammar-minded folks tend to frown and wave their fists. This post from the Oxford Dictionaries blog about the usage (and debate) is interesting. But as far as I’m concerned, if it was good enough for Jane Austen, it’s good enough for me. The next time someone calls me out on it, I will be using history to try and convince them. =D